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Chapter 5
Amelia
Every muscle in my body began to vibrate with fear. My adrenaline kicked into high, making my heartbeat so loudly that I knew he would hear it. I held my breath as Sandoval scanned the jungle around him and then looked up into the branches above.
“There’s still warmth to the fur. Reset the trap, and let’s continue. See if you can find any sign of him to track.” He turned on his heel and headed down another path, not waiting to see if his instructions would be followed. The man with him reset the trap and hurried after Sandoval.
I released the breath I had been holding. My tigress perked up, urging me to follow them. Seeing him had triggered something in her, and she wanted to rip out his throat. To put an end to the last threat to her and her family. I reached behind me. “Molly, stay here.” I fought to keep my tigress at bay, feeling my skin ripple as my shift was close to the surface.
She grabbed my hand and wouldn’t let go. “No, we need to wait. They are coming.” She tried to pull me back against her. Her touch calmed my tigress enough to see reason in not shifting at this moment.
“I need to make sure they won’t come back.” I turned and cupped her face and looked straight into her eyes. “I won’t let them hurt my family again.”
“I don’t want them to hurt you.” Tears filled her eyes as she pleaded with me.
“I won’t go far. I just want to make sure he’s gone. How about that? I’ll stay where you can see me.”
“And you’ll come right back?” Molly’s little voice wrenched at my heart.
“Yes, I’ll come right back.” She nodded her agreement, and I kissed her forehead. “Stay quiet, and I’ll be right back.”
“Hurry,” she whispered as I snuck away, trying to stay in the shadows of the jungle. My ankle protested with every step. I still hadn’t given it the proper amount of time to heal, and every step undid what little healing my body had done. Shifting would take too much time, and I didn’t want to give them a chance to turn back our way.
My tigress helped me. With her enhanced hearing, sure footing, and clearer vision, I made it to the edge of the path the men had taken. Their stench permeated the air along with another darker, oilier scent.
“Dark Magic,”my tigress pulled her lips from her teeth, hissing the words in my head. I looked back, barely able to see the hole I had left Molly in.
“Amelia, stay put. Tito says we are close,” Miguel’s voice echoed along the pride bonds.
“Do as Miguel says, pet. You don’t want to know what the consequences will be if you don’t.” Niko’s voice was firm, yet his veiled threat felt more like a promise. A shiver of desire skittered down my spine, spreading warmth through my body as my core clenched in need.
The wall I had erected, blocking the pride out, had fallen when my tigress pushed forward to help make sure Jeff and his man were, in fact, gone. I didn’t see them anywhere on the path, and their scent began to fade, but the heavier scent of dark magic still hung all around me. One more glance down the path confirming they were gone settled my tigress, and I made my way back to Molly.
I resituated myself in the hollow tree trunk, finally taking weight and pressure off my ankle and pulling Molly into my lap. I curled around her as best as I could in the cramped space, and we waited. I fought against every instinct within me by staying put with her. Even hidden as we were, my tigress felt we were still vulnerable to the other dangers of the jungle, such as the golden lancehead slithering our way. I had nodded off, and my head lolling to the side snapped me awake to look straight at the threat working his way nearer to us.
I blinked my eyes, thinking I was hallucinating. That species should only be found on what they called Snake Island off the shore of Sao Paulo, not here in the middle of the mainland. Molly was asleep in my arms. I held my breath as I watched it continue to slither closer.
“We are almost there, Amelia. Tito says just around the bend in the path.” My heart tripped at Miguel’s voice, warming my blood with his tender, caring tone.
“You need to stop. There’s a snake making its way toward us, and if you come running in, I’m afraid it will startle and strike,” I replied.
“One little snake isn’t going to stop us,” Niko replied.
“One little snake wouldn’t, but one big motherfucking golden lancehead would, you jackass.”I took a shallow breath, unable to hold it anymore. “I think it will pass us if I stay stone still, but I don’t want to take the chance of it getting startled, seeing us, and striking. As it is, it will feel the heat from our bodies, but without a threat, it should move on by.”
It amazed me how the most dangerous animals in the world were also the most beautiful. I watched as his molted yellowish-brown skin slithered along the moss-covered bark. Green and yellow spores helped camouflage him on his journey. As more of his body came into view, I could see a distinct bulge and relaxed minutely. He had found a meal and was on his way to curl up and let his body digest whatever small bird or lizard had lost the battle for life.
It felt like hours as I watched him pass. In reality, it was mere minutes before he disappeared into the ground cover under the tree next to us, leaves rustling as he dug beneath them, creating his temporary den.
“It’s clear.”
Tito burst through the foliage across from us before the last word traveled along the bonds. He inspected the area around us, his wolf senses acutely aware of every change. He followed the scent of the snake to the pile of leaves, gave a low growl, and backed away. Once satisfied we were safe, he bounded over and licked Molly’s face making her giggle and wiggle in my lap.
She opened her eyes, saw the wolf in front of her, and jumped from my lap. “Uncle Tito!” She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried. “I knew you would find us.”
Tito gave a small yip and tilted his head to rub against Molly’s. Miguel and Niko emerged, concern on one face and anger on the other. Both gazes set my nerve endings on fire, and my core clenched. My tigress rolled over in my head, exposing her belly to the men before us, the little hussy.
Miguel reached me first, helping me to stand. He ran his hands over my hair, down my arms, his eyes scanning every inch of my body, fanning the flames of my desire even higher. I took a step, forgetting about my ankle, and hissed as pain shot up my leg. It had healed at an odd angle. The bones knit back together, but since I had it curled underneath Molly, the bones were uneven.
